Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 13 February 2024

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

Lakewood Church Shooting Update

36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno has been identified as the Lakewood Church shooter, according to Chris Hassig with Houston Police Department’s Homicide Unit. Moreno allegedly confronted an unarmed security guard outside the building before she was let in and began firing. “She displayed or possibly pointed a weapon at that security officer,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a Monday news briefing. He said he didn’t consider it a “security breach.”

By the time Moreno walked into Texas’ Lakewood Church on Sunday afternoon and opened fire, she already had left a trail of police encounters, court records, and social media posts her estranged say should have raised “red flags.” While her criminal charges came and went, on the civil side, records would show that Moreno has a long history of dealing with mental illness, and drug abuse. Moreno’s husband painted a troubling picture in divorce records obtained by ABC13 in Harris and Montgomery counties. Authorities have also reported coming across antisemitic writings.

Six women who live in the neighborhood in Conroe, a north Houston suburb, said Moreno targeted them, harassed them, threatened them, displayed firearms and made them fear being outside their homes.

Analyst Comments:

The team at Gate 15 briefly covered the shooting in their Security Sprint podcast this week, and expect to release a deeper dive into the incident this week, so be sure to check their podcast channel. This is an evolving situation, and we want to remind our community that members are sharing information related to the incident on FB-ISAO Slack in the #pir_01-fbo_imminent_violence_threat and the #og_us_terrrorism channels. As more details emerge, the FB-ISAO team continue to provide updates, particularly in regards to potential motive  

Below are additional open source links related to the Lakewood Shooting:

• Houston megachurch shooter also identified as mother of critically injured 7-year-old boy
• Lakewood Church shooting: Suspected shooter confronted unarmed guard; unclear who shot child
• Texas megachurch shooting suspect allegedly became ‘abusive’ to husband, posted rifle photo to IG
• Texas neighbors said they tried to sound the alarm about Houston church shooter for months
• ‘Antisemitic writings’ found in search of Joel Osteen megachurch shooter’s items
• Houston Megachurch Shooter Had an AR-15 and Brought Her 7-Year-Old Son
• Suspect legally purchased rifle used in Lakewood Church shooting, HPD says
• Officials search for motive as new details emerge about the shooter at a Houston megachurch
• Here’s what investigators were looking for at Lakewood Church shooter’s Conroe home
• Shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church ignites conversation around safety at Triangle churches
• A shooter opened fire in a Houston church. Gunfire has also scarred other Texas places of worship
• What does the Lakewood Church shooting now mean for security in places of worship?

As with all hostile events, the possibility of copycat attacks is always a concern. The community is encouraged to review their plans and procedures. Below are relevant resources:

• CISA’s Protecting Houses of Worship Resourcesprovide valuable tools and information on protecting Faith-Based Organizations.
• CISA’s Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan Product Suitedescribes the fundamental concepts of developing an Emergency Action Plan for an active shooter scenario.
• CISA’s Active Shooter Preparedness provides a series of materials to assist businesses, government offices, schools, and communities in preparing for and responding to an active shooter incident
• CISA’s Securing Public Gatherings resources assist organizations with developing incident response plans, training staff, and reporting concerns to emergency authorities to mitigate security risks.

FB-ISAO: The 2023 Threat Data in Review

FB-ISAO provides members with regular reporting of incidents directed at Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) throughout the year. Our incident reporting is derived from numerous sources including open-source reporting shared on the FB-ISAO Slack workspace as well as from our public and private partners at the federal, state, and local levels.  This reporting can help organizations understand the various threats and risks that they may face and can help inform risk mitigation strategies. In 2023, the Co-Chair of the FB-ISAO ORG conducted events-data research based on incidents reported or tracked. In total the FB-ISAO ORG recorded a total of 1,027 attacks on Houses of Worship (HOW) during 2023.

Analyst Comments:

Tracked incidents break down accordingly:

• 43% were against Protestant churches.
• 32% targeted Jewish synagogues.
• 14% were against Catholic churches.
• 5% targeted mosques.

According to the research, nearly half of the incidents were property crimes, followed by threats of violence. The following is a breakdown by FBO in order of requency/volume:

• Protestant churches faced vandalism, theft, arson, assaults, and graffiti.

• Jewish synagogues and temples encountered bomb threats, harassment, graffiti, other threats, and assaults.

• Catholic churches were hit by vandalism, theft, threats, arson, assaults, and graffiti.
• Mosques were victim of vandalism, assaults, theft, graffiti, and arson.

A briefing has been held with FB-ISAO members to review the 2023 threat data. The recording is available on the FB-ISAO Slack workspace. Members can access the recording on demand. If you are not yet a member of FB-ISAO, consider joining here.